44 



NA TURE 



[November 12, lyoH 



Instruction for reducing tine staff, and we can well 

 syinpathise with the director in his endeavour to main- 

 lain the activity and honourable record of the institution 

 with a diminishing staff consequent upon a vanishing 

 budget. Trustworthy services by competent assistants 

 could not be secured, and the energies of the director had 

 to be devoted to examining and correcting the operations 

 of those who were both inefficient and negligent. We may 

 record, however, his own statement made in 1904, which 

 shows that under his administration there had been pro- 

 duced four volumes giving the places of 630,000 stars with 

 their magnitudes, resulting from more than 1,800,000 

 observations, together with eighteen charts containing 

 550,000 stars. These figures are quite sufficient to demon- 

 strate his industry, but if we remember that in addition 

 to this work Dr. Thome cheerfully gave aid in the matter 

 of photographing a zone of the Astrographic Chart, it will 

 be admitted that an amount of work stands to his credit 

 which entitles him to rank among the earnest and devoted 

 supporters of astronomical science. 



Another astronomer who has passed away after render- 

 ing long and efficient services is Mr. Andrew Graham, 

 whose name was familiar to two generations of scientific 

 workers, for nearly seventy years have elapsed since he 

 began his astronomical career at Colonel Cooper's observa- 

 torv at Markree, in Ireland. It was Mr. Graham's for- 

 tune to take part in two movements, which have had un- 

 expected developments — the discovery of asteroids and the 

 construction of a Durchmusterung. Before the number 

 of small planets had reached double figures he added Metis 

 to the list, and he lived to see the number grow incon- 

 veniently large. The zones of ecliptic stars observed at 

 Markree were among the early efforts of a mode of 

 observing which has since been extended to the whole 

 heavens, to the great advantage of astronomy and the 

 convenience of observers. It was fitting that he who had 

 laboured at the pioneer w^ork of determining approximate 

 positions should end his career by sharing in the magnifi- 

 cent task of giving accurate places to the stars contained 

 in .^rgelandcr's survey. For nearly forty years Mr. 

 Graham worked at the Cambridge Observatory under 

 Prof, .'\dams, during which time he devoted himself with- 

 unwearying zeal mainly to the observation of the zone 

 allotted to the Cambridge Observatory in the scheme in- 

 augurated by the Astronomische_ Gesellschaft. At the 

 advanced age of ninety-three this industrious astronomer 

 has departed, mourned by many friends in the University 

 of Cambridge, where his long services were gratefully 

 acknowledged, and where his memory will long be 

 treasured. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt from the authors, 

 Messrs. Gibbs and Barraud, of a copy of a paper, from 

 the Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History 

 Society, on the two-winged flies of that county. 



To Captain S. S. Flower we are indebted for a copy 

 of a list of the zoological gardens of the world, drawn up 

 bv himself, and published in Egypt. The number of such 

 gardens is eighty. 



.'\n association has been established in connection with 

 the Norwich Museum, of which the first report is now 

 before us. Its object is to arrange demonstrations illus- 

 trative of economic natural history and horticulture. A 

 considerable number of such exhibits was displayed during 

 last year, and apparently aroused a fair amount of public 

 interest. 



NO. 2037, VOL. 79] 



l-'ou the last fc-sv yi'ars the council of the Natural 

 History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and New- 

 castle-on-Tyne has had to record a decrease in the member- 

 ship roll of that body. In the report for the past year 

 it is satisfactory to see that a slight increase is recorded 

 in this respect, although a considerable addition is re- 

 quired in order to put the society on a satisfactory foot- 

 ing. The list of additions to the museum is comparatively 

 large. 



A FINELY illustrated account, by Mr. F. Heatherley, of 

 a visit to the ternery at Wells-by-the-Sea forms the open- 

 ing article in the October number of the Zoologist. Two 

 species are found nesting on this site, namely, the common 

 and the lesser torn ; they have separate colonies of their 

 own, probably for the reason that they would disagree 

 if mixed, 'i'he author adds that the common tern, when 

 on the wing, may be distinguished from the Arctic tern 

 by its much less jerky flight and its habit of hovering, ir. 

 kestrel-fashion, when fishing. It is also reported to carry 

 its tail closed more frequently than is the case with the 

 .\rctic species. 



We have received copies of the second parts of thi- 

 SilzKiigsberichtc and of the Verhandlungcn for 1907, issued 

 by the Naturhistorischen ' Vereins der prcussischen Rhein- 

 lande und Westfalens. The former contains a large 

 number of short articles, mainly devoted to local zoology, 

 botany, paljeontology, and geology, and to refer to any 

 of these separately would appear invidious. The Vcr- 

 handlungen comprise five longer papers, also mainly on 

 local subjects, Mr. R. Schaufs discussing the copepods 

 and cladocerans of the Bonn district, Mr. K. Rotlgi-n 

 the coleopterous fauna of the Rhine province, Mr. W. 

 Bruhns volcanic bombs from Schweppenhausen, and Mr. 

 A. Hasebrink the Cretaceous formation of the Teutoburg 

 Forest. 



The various methods of developing and preparing fossils 

 for exhibition or for the purpose of study are discussed ai 

 considerable length by Dr. F. A. Bather in a paper read 

 before the Ipswich Museums' Conference, and published 

 in the September issue of the Museums Journal. In case4 

 of hard and intractable matri,x something may in certain 

 instances be accomplished by purely physical methods, sucli 

 as heating limestones and then plunging them into cold 

 water, by splittmg ironstone nodules with the aid of 

 freezing mixture, or by saturating the rock, when suffici- 

 ently porous, with a quickly crystallising solution like 

 magnesiuiTi sulphate, when the act of crystallisation loosens 

 the particles of the superficial layer. In other instances, 

 however, it is necessary to resort to chetuical agents of 

 various kinds. 



To the September nuiuber of the Aiufriiiiii Natural!.''! 

 Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell contributes a paper on some of 

 the results of the expedition sent from Colorado to collect 

 the Tertiary fossils of Florissant. In addition to the large 

 number of species of insects, one of the most interesting 

 fossil types obtained is Trichophanes foliarum, an aberrant 

 fish of the perch group originally described from Nevada. 

 In Florissant these fish apparently lived in open water 

 during the great glaciation, entirely cut off from the 

 southern fauna ; they were accompanied by another waning 

 tvpe — a species of bowfin (.\mia). As regards the flora, 

 the great problem to be determined is whether certain 

 leaves indicate representatives of the Proteacca;, a group 

 now confined practically to the southern hemisphere. As 

 in the case of the European fossils which have been 

 assigned to the same group, no one, according to the' 



